Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Picked up some Guitar wire to make cool cables and such for my conversions but I'm not too happy with it. The problem is its not very flexible. It's really hard to bend it into shape without anchoring both ends, and even then I often wind up with a right angle bend in it... Does anyone know if there are tips for using this stuff, or if there are different types of guitar strings and I got the wrong kind? I love the way it looks... ...in other people's stuff.

First of all, you have to have bent into exactly the angles you need before gluing it into place. To avoid having too much of a right angle bend, try bending it around a pair of needle-nose pliers, while holding one end in them and gripping the other end with another pair of pliers. Don't try to grip it with the tips of your fingers, unless you're a guitar player and have serious callouses, because you've feel like your fingers are on fire in no time. Be patient and it will work out great.

I play guitar and have used many strings. Ive also used them in modeling. Try going for acoustic nickle wound nylon strings. They are more flexible than electric guitar string as they have a nylon core instead of another metal.

rokitchikin wrote:I play guitar and have used many strings. Ive also used them in modeling. Try going for acoustic nickle wound nylon strings. They are more flexible than electric guitar string as they have a nylon core instead of another metal.

This .

I've also found that for making curved cable,wraping a length of guitar string tightly around an appropriate sized cylindrical object ( pen,magic marker,plastic tube) works very well in shapeing the string.

Bend the wire before you cut it to length, that seems to be the step your missing.

As others have said, wrap it around something that fits the size you need. I use a pair of needle-nose pliers like Warpcrafter. The pliers are tapered so I can get different size curves by moving the bend towards the handles or down towards the tip.

+1 for bending it before cutting, as well as using mandrels (rods to wrap it around). Leverage is your friend when bending anything that resists. Guitar strings are quite resilient, so there will be a decent amount of spring-back. Try wrapping it around a rod with a diameter smaller than the curve you want, then letting the natural spring shallow the curve a bit (possibly with a little extra help from your handy dandy pliers).

If you have a full string, curve a few inches back from the end, allowing yourself enough to grip + a few inches for leverage, then snip it off and trim to length. The extra little cutoffs from the end have plenty of uses and strings aren't terribly pricey, considering how little you need for each project.

Yet another solution that doesn't involve guitar strings:

Dragon Forge Miniatures make peweter power cables.
http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/sculpting_supplies.htm

Yeah, I bought some of those cables myself and I like them. I'm not doing Orks anymore so I have little use for them now, but still...

they look really think...or is it just zoomed in lots lol

Electrical solder is better for making wires and pipes because it is easy to bend into shape.

You can get various types of wire from

http://www.barrule.com/Workshop/scratch%20builders%20paradise/Thread%20cable%20and%20wire.html

and other places.

http://www.accurate-armour.com/showaaproducts.cfm?category=7&subcategory=44